by sportswriters Zhang Han, Wang Jingyu
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- All-time leading Russians will meet strong challenges from Asia in figure skating events at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, as China's pairs have their best chances in sight and a South Korean girl comes all along.
With three pairs capable of finishing in the top five as they did in Turin, China is welcoming the show time of its own after the 2002 and 2006 Olympic bronze medalists Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo came out of retirement with their eyes fixed on claiming the Olympic title.
Four years ago, when the Chinese pairs came second, third and fourth, Russia, which dominated the sport's medal standing in Turin with three golds, nailed down its 12th Olympic pairs title in a row as twice world champions Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Aarinin finished on the top podium.
The results came after Zhao Hongbo, who broke his Achilles tendon less than six months before the Turin Games, only recovered enough to skate all his selected movements but a triple-triple jump combination, and Zhang Dan, making her Olympic debut alongside with Zhang Hao, suffered a heavy fall on their opening jump in the free skating.
Many then wondered: What would China have achieved in pairs figure skating if those untimely accidents had been avoided?
Soon after the Turin drama, Totmianina and Aarinin announced their retirement and never looked back, just like all previous Russian pairs Olympians did.
Zhao and his now wife Shen, however, have saved their passion for one last chance of knowing what Olympic gold medal tastes, despite the past bitter experience.
"To lift the Olympic trophy is the ultimate dream of our career. We just came back for it," Zhao, 37, the oldest one in the 91-athlete Chinese delegation to Vancouver, told Xinhua earlier this month after a training session preparing for the Games on Feb. 12-28.
Before their retirement in 2007, the pair have taken three world championships and six titles of ISU Grand Prix finals, but were eluded by the Olympic gold medals for three times.
Declaring to come back to the stage in May, Shen and Zhao again proved themselves competitive and in form with three victories in as many Grand Prix outings. At December's Finals in Tokyo, near-flawless performance with difficult routines earned them a record-score victory with short program 75.36 and overall 214.25.
Also having legitimate contenders in Pang Qing/Tong Jian and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao, China again emerges as the hot favorite to vie for the pairs medals against Russia and Germany.
"The Vancouver Olympics will be the time we were closest to the gold," said former team leader of the Chinese figure skaters Ren Hongguo, now deputy director of China's Winter Sports Administrative Center.
"Both the pairs Shen/Zhao and Pang/Tong scored a 200-plus this season, which was outstanding performance with only four or five pairs have made it in the world," added Ren.
Russia's Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov and Germany's Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy are also among the 200+ club. Recently, the Japanese-Russian Kavaguti won the European championships partnering Smirnov on a stunning high mark of 213.50, beating the world top ranked German duo to the second place.
On the men's part, Turin Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko, who also capped his return with the European men's singles title last week, retains Russia's main hope for the Olympic title in figure skating. If he does so, the 27-year-old will come out the first skater to defend an Olympic men's title since 1952.
Evan Lysacek and Jeremy Abbott of the United States, twice world champions Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, France's Brian Joubert, Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic and Japanese duo Daisuke Takahashi and Nobunari Oda, will also be favored to join the fight.
Reigning world champion Kim Yu Na, reckoned a national treasure by the South Koreans, is the hottest title contender in the ladies event.
The Japanese contingent of Mao Asada and Miki Ando, respectively the 2008 and 2007 world champions, as well as this year's China Grand Prix title-holder Akiko Suzuki, however, pin the country's hope of repeating the supreme glory of Shizuka Arakawa, who became Asia's first Olympic champion in figure skating in Turin 2006.
Hosts Canada's Joannie Rochette, the 2009 world silver medalist, and American duo Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu will have to be watched closely, too.
Kim, who has a ton of international medals to her credit coming into the competition and was ranked first in the world by the International Skating Union as of January, lost only twice in all her outings of the last two seasons, but both to the also 19-year-old Asada.
In ice dancing, world and European champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin will be chasing the Olympic gold against the world silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States.
